### 261

You continue along the quayside. Your hopes of finding a boat and a boatman willing to take you across the estuary are fading fast until Quang spots something in the distance that raises your flagging spirit. It is a small brick built cabin with a roof of thick red tiles.

‘That’s the Coast Guard station,’ he says, and he marches towards it at a brisk pace. Inside you find the Quay Master seated at his desk. He is hunched over a detailed map of the Tkukoma Estuary with a mug of steaming jala cupped in his hands. Quang asks him if he has any Coast Guard boats operational in the estuary and the thin-faced Quay Master snorts with derision.

‘In this weather? Not likely!’

‘Then by the power vested in me by Khea-khan Lao Tin, I am commandeering one of your boats,’ replies Quang, officiously, and he shows the Quay Master his insignia of rank. The man looks at his insignia, then he looks at you and Deng and he bursts out laughing.

‘I am not joking,’ retorts Quang. ‘I demand you let me inspect your fleet.’

‘My fleet?’ replies the Quay Master, chuckling under his breath. ‘Very well, I’ll show you my fleet. Follow me.’

You leave the Coast Guard station and follow the Quay Master along the quayside to a small rowing boat tethered by a rope to an iron ring in the wall.

‘There, that’s my fleet. All that’s left of it that is. You’re welcome to commandeer it if you wish.’

The Quay Master turns on his heel and marches back to his station, laughing and shaking his head all the way. You look down at the rowing boat and your heart sinks. It is a sturdily built craft but there is only enough room for two. If the three of you were to attempt to cross the stormy estuary in this tiny boat it would surely capsize. Quang places his hand on Deng’s shoulder and the Watcher raises his head and looks unblinkingly into the Lieutenant’s steely eyes.

‘I am discharging you of your duties, Deng,’ he says. ‘You have served loyally and bravely and I will commend you to the Khea-khan. Return to the cavalry barracks and join with Bai. Accompany him on his ride back to Jueng tomorrow.’

Deng nods his head and salutes the Lieutenant. He wishes you both good luck before he leaves the quayside and walks away into the teeming rain. You watch him go. He does not look back.

‘It is best he goes with Bai tomorrow,’ says Quang. ‘If they should run into the enemy during their journey, they’ll stand a better chance of surviving than if Bai were to go alone.’

‘It will be hard on them to tell Shen-Yin that she has lost her husband,’ you reply.

‘Yes …  yes it will,’ says Quang, his voice tinged with bitter sadness. ‘Her husband …  and her sister too. When I spoke with Bai at the stables, he told me that when he searched the farm house next to the barn, he found the bodies of Shen-Yin’s sister and her husband. Both had been murdered by the Skarada.’

‘This is so sad,’ you reply, ‘I pray that Ishir will give her strength to bear her grievous loss.’

Quang walks to the edge of the quay and loosens the rope securing the rowboat.

‘Perhaps we should wait until the storm abates,’ you say.

‘There’s no chance of any improvement in this foul weather,’ replies Quang. ‘We could be waiting here for days. It’s not uncommon for it to be stormy at this time of the year, but I’ve never known anything like this. I fear there are dark forces in play. We must reach Dwala and you must deliver the Eye to the Elder Magi as soon as possible. The crossing will be difficult but it will not be impossible. We must place our trust in God Kai to see us through to the other side, and we must be away at once. It’s now or never.’

You step into the boat and set the oars into the rowlocks. Quang casts off and you commence your voyage out into the treacherous waters of the Tkukoma Estuary.

If you possess the Grand Master Discipline of Elementalism, and have attained the rank of Kai Grand Guardian or higher, turn to 122.

If you do not have this Discipline, or if you have yet to achieve the required rank, turn to 11.